Fit check
Is From Orbit worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- Single-player strategy fans who prefer compact sessions over large-scale RTS campaigns
- Players who enjoy adapting to changing alien environments and creature abilities
- RTS newcomers who want selectable pacing without mainstream RTS complexity
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players seeking a campaign without permanent run-ending consequences
- Players who prefer slow, resource-stable strategy rather than repeated pressure and timed retreats
- Those looking for cooperative multiplayer or character-focused RPG progression
Our take on From Orbit
Instead of expanding across a fixed battlefield, this action RTS centers each run on planetary extraction and departure. Resources run out while hostile creatures keep arriving, so abandoning a position is part of the normal strategic structure rather than a failure of the overall campaign.
What is From Orbit?
From Orbit is a single-player action real-time strategy game about guiding a stranded spaceship crew home.
Each procedurally generated planet offers different environments, dangers, resources, and artifacts. The crew scouts for Ore and Crystal, collects supplies, constructs automated harvesters and turrets, repairs equipment, and buys upgrades before launching back into orbit. Crew members can switch between Harvester, Defender, Engineer, and Medic roles as conditions change. Hostile creatures continue to arrive, while local resources eventually run out, requiring decisions about when to abandon a planet. Permadeath ends a run if the crew is killed or the ship is destroyed. Players can advance quickly or establish defensive positions before attempting extraction.
How From Orbit plays
- 01Procedural Planets
- New runs create different regions of space with varied environments, risks, benefits, and alien creatures.
- 02Four Crew Roles
- Crew members can change between harvesting, combat, engineering, and medical duties during a mission.
- 03Defensive Construction
- Engineers can place automated harvesters, turrets, and other mechanical equipment, then repair structures or the ship.
- 04Resource Extraction
- Ore and Crystal fund defenses and upgrades needed for the journey home.
- 05Permadeath Runs
- A run ends when aliens kill the crew or destroy the spaceship.
From Orbit compared to similar games
From Orbit combines single-player action RTS play with resource extraction, role switching, construction, procedural planets, and evacuation under continuing alien attacks. Anomaly: Warzone Earth also mixes action and strategy around aliens, but uses a reversed tower-defense structure in which players respond to enemy-built turrets. Dungeon Defenders: Awakened combines cooperative action RPG and tower defense with loot, leveling, pets, and character customization, rather than From Orbit's crew management and permadeath runs.
From Orbit: platforms & release
Is From Orbit worth it?
It is worth it if: single-player strategy fans who prefer compact sessions over large-scale RTS campaigns. Skip it if: players seeking a campaign without permanent run-ending consequences.
Where can I download From Orbit?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens From Orbit's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is From Orbit on?
Windows, macOS and Linux.
